Heidi Tracy joined the Michigan Health Improvement Alliance (MiHIA) in December 2021 as the organization’s CEO. A strategic-thinking executive with a proven record of accomplishment in higher education, nonprofits, and community development, Tracy is dedicated to continuous community improvement by developing programs and securing support for organizations serving underrepresented groups.

Prior to MiHIA, Tracy served as the vice president for Advancement at Central Michigan, Texas Woman’s and Otterbein universities and assistant vice president for Individual Giving at Carnegie Mellon University. Tracy began her career in higher education at Ohio University where she served as the assistant dean for Development, assistant director for Major Gifts and finally as executive director for Major Gifts.

Tracy’s service to community well-being extends beyond higher education. She has worked on a number of local and statewide elections and covered the 1988 Republican and Democratic conventions and subsequent presidential inauguration as a journalist.

As a private consultant, she has worked with numerous nonprofits on board relations and development, fundraising, finance, organizational leadership, marketing and communication, program development, public policy and legislative affairs. She has helped organizations raise more than $200 million throughout her career.

A native of Ohio, Tracy earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism from Ohio University and completed Harvard University’s Institute for Educational Management Program.

Andrea Foster is the chief of staff and provides support for various MiHIA committees, staff efforts and operational needs. Foster also leads THRIVE’s Opiod Response efforts championing harm reduction.

Foster comes to us from The Little Forks Conservancy in Midland, Michigan, where she worked for over six years as the director of Programs and Partnerships. A passionate youth and outdoor advocate, she is the creator of the Conservancy’s Nature/Nurture Program, an environmental education program for under-served youth and OUTdoors Together, a hiking group for LGBTQ individuals and allies.

Foster is an active community volunteer and advocate, serving on several local committee efforts including the Midland Young Professionals Steering Committee, and the Midland Area Community Foundation’s Cultural Awareness Coalition. She also volunteers as a mentor at the Midland County Juvenile Care Center, and is a regular motivational speaker for teens spanning diverse topics.

Mark Kato, DHA is a program leader for MiHIA/THRIVE, and has over a decade of experience in healthcare quality improvement, data analytics, and financial analysis.

Mark leads the Achieving the Right Medications for Health (ARM4Health) Project. The initiative implements a focused, coordinated action plan to increase education on appropriate prescribing, deprescribing and adverse drug events, and implement policies and care team models which improve these practices.

Mark comes to MiHIA from UnitedHealthcare where he led a Quality Improvement Analytics team and prior to that he was the Director of Performance Improvement at MidMichigan Health.

Mark obtained his Doctorate of Healthcare Administration from Central Michigan University and Masters in Business Administration from East Carolina University. He resides in Bay City with his wife and three children.

Alyson McCloy is the executive administration and operations assistant and provides support for various MiHIA committees, staff efforts and operational needs.

Before joining MiHIA, Alyson worked as the office manager for an insurance agency for over seven years, overseeing all day-to-day operations of the agency including administration, sales, and training and also has a background in journalism.

Alyson is an alumnus of Central Michigan University, holding a B.S. in Organization Administration and a graduate certificate in Human Resources Administration. She was born and raised in the Great Lakes Bay Region and currently resides in Auburn with her twins, Riley and Adelyn. In her spare time, she likes to crochet and garden.

Jameca Patrick Singleton is the director of Children, Families and Education for MiHIA which includes the major focus and serving as the project leader for the Maternal Child Health and Well-being Initiative (MCHWI).

Previously she worked as the lead consultant for Granting Success, helping to build the capacity of non-profits and socially active businesses.

She is also the former chief recovery officer for the City of Flint. In this role she worked to maximize the involvement of Flint residents in the recovery and rebuilding of the Flint water infrastructure and recovery support services.

Prior to the City of Flint, she worked as the director of Coalition Building Programs for Metro Community Development and the Coordinator for the Flint/Genesee Continuum of Care. She has also worked as an adjunct faculty member for University of Michigan- Flint and Baker College where she taught Social Work and Human Service disciplines.

She studied social work both at Mott Community College and the University of Michigan. She holds a Masters of Social Work degree with a concentration in Organizational and Community Practice from Michigan State University.

Jameca sits on several boards and committees working towards creating and sustaining stable communities, including serving as the current chairperson of the City of Flint Human Relations Commission.

She is a lifelong resident of the City of Flint, a proud mother of two and grandmother to seven children.

Dallas Rau is the director for Program Development, Community Impact and Partnership Engagement and works to engage THRIVE’s many stakeholders in our work. Rau also works on programs in financial stability and maternal child health.

Before joining MiHIA, Dallas worked for SecureCom, a local security integration company, for just over 16 years. Dallas was in charge of the day-to-day business operations as well as project and employee management.

Dallas is a native to the Great Lakes Bay Region and has been married to her husband for just over 13 years.  She and Jeremy have one child, a son, named Haven. An alumni of Northwood University in Midland, Dallas graduated Summa Cum Laude with her B.B.A. in Business Management. Community involvement has always been very important to Dallas, who is a member of the Midland Noon Rotary Club where she also serves on the board. Additionally, she volunteers with many other local organizations such as Salvation Army, Midland Public Schools, the Midland Lacrosse Club, and The Bridge, to name a few.

In her spare time, Dallas enjoys spending time with her family and friends, traveling, watching her son participate in sports, riding ATV’s and snowmobiles, and playing volleyball.

Sasha Savage, M.D. is the chief health officer for THRIVE. Dr. Savage’s role is focused on the health and well-being aspects of the THRIVE Portfolio, including key messages, achieving intended outcomes and informing the actions and progress during the multi-phased implementation.

Dr. Savage’s compassion for people is a result of his childhood. A native of Michigan, Dr. Savage was raised in Kalamazoo. Serving the public and helping others was deeply ingrained in his upbringing. His father was a teacher of the deaf and blind and actively demonstrated the compassion and hard work involved in helping others. His parents invested in a more economically challenged area and worked as a family to repair homes in order to make them available to rent. For Dr. Savage, working on properties in the summers and being aware of the financial struggles of tenants brought him, from a young age, a deep understanding of the issues facing families.

Currently, Dr. Savage works at MidMichigan Medical Center, where he serves as the medical director of the Family Practice Center. He is involved in leadership and ethics at his employer. He provides peer leadership support as a Physician Dyad, and is active in the system redesign incorporating the Quadruple Aim with a specific focus on provider wellness. More recent contributions have included pioneering leadership concerning the issue of provider burnout, system wellness reform, and enhancing provider resiliency.

Prior to his current position, he served as chief of staff within the hospital and was instrumental in graduate medical education in a variety of roles: he was the chairperson of the Department of Family Medicine, and from 2013-2018 served as the inaugural chair of the Ethics Committee. In 2002, he joined the faculty in Midland and was honored by the residents with the Teacher of the Year Award in 2007. Rounding out his recognition within the MidMichigan Health System, he was the first physician ever to receive the Bernard E. Lorimer Award for outstanding lifetime achievement. Early in his career, Dr. Savage served as the primary architect of the Patient-Centered Medical Home, the model of care that is now the standard across the MidMichigan Health System.

He completed his medical doctorate training with High Honors from Wayne State University in 1999 and continued his training with a postdoctoral fellowship in faculty development from the University of Michigan in 2002. Dr. Savage’s higher education began at Brigham Young University where he graduated Summa Cum Laude in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in biology.

Dr. Savage and his wife Heather have lived in the Great Lakes Bay region since 1999 and are the proud parents to eight children. A man of deep faith, Dr. Savage is a former Bishop of the Midland Second Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is involved in many other community organizations.

Tina Swanton coordinates several programs contributing to general population health: the In-Person Diabetes Prevention Program, the Virtual Diabetes Prevention Program (VDPP), and Choosing Wisely. In addition to handling the daily coordination of programs, Tina also works as a community relations staff member. Tina says, “I am very energized to be working with community partners to make strides to impact and improve the community.”

In her free time, Tina loves to be outdoors, to travel, and to otherwise be active.

Her undergraduate degree is from Central Michigan University and her master’s degree is from the University of Kentucky. She resides in Saginaw with her husband and young children.